MIT water is generally safe to drink

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By Janice Yoo

Many MIT students worry about the quality of their drinking water,
and for good reason: it often tastes bad, and its color can range from
yellow to brown.

In addition, many Cambridge residents off campus received mail warnings
in 1989 that cancer-causing chloroform byproducts of the
chlorination/purification process exceeded the city and state health
standards by 100 parts per billion (ppb).

Although the chloroform level warranted action by Cambridge officials,
one representative of the city water department said that "a person would
have had to drink two liters of that water every day for 70 years to have a
one in 10,000 chance of contracting cancer." He noted that the chloroform
level in Cambridge is down to normal.

Richard Fink, an officer at the Biohazards Assessment Office said that on
a microbial level, Cambridge water has generally met city and state health
standards. He attributed the brown color of Cambridge water to the presence
of diatoms, a type of algae. According to Fink, this algae is not a health
problem, but simply makes the water taste and look unpleasant. He added
that the algal discoloration was a more regular problem two years ago than
it is today.

Lead pipes are

another concern

Lead joints in Institute water pipes are another subject of concern. Lead
leaches from the joints into the water traveling through it when the water
reaches acidity levels of pH 5 or 6. The pH level measures the relative
acidity of a substance on a scale between 0 and 14, where numbers less than
7 are acids and those greater than 7 are bases. Water, considered neutral,
has a pH of 7.

MIT and other institutions around the country removed water fountains
with lead tank linings and solder from their facilities three years ago.
More recently, campus water coolers were tested for lead. In a test
designed to simulate the worst-case scenario, water in the coolers was
allowed to stand still for 48 hours.

In some coolers, the first water sample showed 50 ppb, with diminishing
amounts of lead reported on subsequent tests as the standing water was
flushed out and replaced with fresh water. Fifty ppb is the Environmental
Protection Agency's drinking water standard for lead. These water coolers
were promptly removed.

Dormitory water pipes are mostly made of copper, but lead is still used
in the soldering joints of the pipes. Water standing in these pipes for
more than 48 hours may still acquire very small amounts of lead.

Low levels of lead can cause learning disabilities in developing
children, especially those six years old and younger. Infants between nine
and 18 months are most vulnerable to the effects of lead. Alan M. Ducatman,
director of the MIT Environmental Medical Service, said that it would take
enormous amounts of lead to affect MIT students' health.

Ducatman suggested that if someone suspects that water has not moved
through the pipes at a particular faucet or fountain for more than a
weekend and a young person is going to drink the water, the water should be
allowed to run for a minute to flush out the standing water. Either the MIT
Biohazard Assessment Office or the MIT Industrial Hygiene Office will
analyze water samples if anyone has serious questions concerning dangerous
chemicals in MIT water.